The wormery at one week

The wormery at one week
Originally uploaded by Marj Joly.

Well the worms seem to be there still. I only took the lid off to give them some more food and to take a photo. A couple were climbing the sides, but you can see one worm among the vegetables. The lid now stays on tight for another week to let them settle in.

Aster germination

The asters are showing signs of germination three days after sowing (usual germination 7-21 days). They have been living on the kitchen windowsill, with plastic bags over them. They were bit difficult to photo, so here is an image of the aubergines, which are next to them and coming along OK.

Any day now we are going to be overun by plants, as the hot peppers need potting on in the next few days, the acrolinium are growing fast, and there are still so many other seeds to sow.

I am beginning to think I am a bit obsessed by my seedlings, but it is so exciting to see them growing, and I keep imagining the fantastic vegetables and flowers we will have this year.

Speedy seeds

Speedy seeds
Originally uploaded by Marj Joly.

The acrolinium started to germinate yesterday and here they are this morning. Looks like it doesn't really matter how they were sown, they are all coming up fine.

Two other varieties of flower seeds were sown on February 26th - Rudbeckia (Chim Chiminee), and Aster (Florette Champagne). These may be more challenging fo me, as need more heat to germinate, both could take up to 21 days to germinate.

Acrolinium

Sown some acrolinium double mixed (also known as everlasting flowers) this morning in pots indoors. Need to be at 16-18 degrees to germinate. Not really sure of the best way to sow them, and couldn't find any specific information. So have sown some under a light covering of compost, some others about 2cm deep, and some others under what I thought was vermiculite, but is probably just small stones.

Now planning on getting some vermiculite, as know we will need this later on for some other flower seeds.

The tomatoes were growing themselves out of their seed trays, so have transplanted 14 small plants into larger pots (about 2-3inch). So they are looking much happier already - but that was before I put them outside on the balcony. Plants that live here have to learn how to survive early on out on the balcony as there is just not enough space inside our small flat for them all. They will come in at night if it gets too cold.

Now off to the plot, and then to the allotment society committee meeting.

Arrival of the worms

Worms by post
Originally uploaded by Marj Joly.

They are here - in a plastic bag with some compost. Now need a trip to the allotment later on to settle them into their new home.

A cold snap

Through ice
Originally uploaded by LoopZilla.

I really like this photo Gordon took at the weekend.

A home for frogs and newts

Our logs
Originally uploaded by LoopZilla.

Gordon made this log pile yesterday in the hope it will attract a few frogs and things that will eat slugs. It is placed under a tree in a shady area, and also masks next door's plastic bags...

The end of an allotment weekend

This weekend has been great. Lots of sun, quite cold, and a very heavy frost last night. The water butts have had a layer of ice, and when I tried to dig the shaded areas today, the ground was impenetrable. Still managed to do quite a big of digging/forking though, especially on the main path. Mike came and helped with a lot of digging yesterday. Today, I stayed at the allotment until dusk.

An allotment day today

It is lovely and sunny this morning here and I am off to the allotment to get some more digging and preparation done.

The aubergines are just started to germinate.

Heritage Seed Library: a delivery

Seeds from the Heritage Seed Library 2008 Catalogue
Originally uploaded by Marj Joly.

The seeds have arrived! This is how they are described in the 2008 Heritage Seed Library catalogue...

Carrot (Egmont Gold): A tapering, pale orange main crop variety good for late sowing.

Beetroot (Bull's Blood): An old variety dating back to before 1900 and renowned for its edible, decorative, reddish-purple foliage. It produces medium-sized, spherical roots that are tasty and tender when young. If picked when small, the striking leaves are also sweet and succulent.

Climbing French Bean (Bonne Bouche): Originating in the Rouen area of France in the 1950's...it has pairs of delicate white flowers and large green leaves. The long green pods have a slight red stripe, and a really great flavour.

Chard (Samara): This attractive variety produces large green leaves with white stems. It is very productive and long lasting.

Leek (Colossal): A hardy and reliable cropper, with long ribbed leaves that drape onto the ground.

Kale (Asparagus): Listed in The Vegetable Garden (Vilmorin-Andrieux 1885), this variety is reputed to be one of the tastiest kales and can be treated more like Broccoli. The violet tinged, fringed leaves, when picked young, are mild-flavoured and really tasty. In spring the young, tender flower shoots can be blanched and eaten like asparagus. Compact, hardy and productive.

Dwarf French Bean (Negritos): The flowers are a pretty pale purple and give rise to short green pods.

Seed potatoes

Yesterday the seed potatoes arrived. We have King Edwards, Pink Fir Apples and Charlotte. Just got find somewhere for them to chit.

Aconites

Aconites
Originally uploaded by Marj Joly.

Back from a weekend in sunny Germany, where the crocii are out and so are the aconites. It was difficult to get a good photo, but these looked so good against the dark soil. We will get some of these to mingle with our crocii by the bottlebrush.

So now we can get back to some allotmenteering after three busy weekends elsewhere!

The brussels sprouts have germinated, and the tomatoes are doing fine. The sweetpeas have survived having their tops pinched out, and look as though they will start bushing out from the lower parts of the plant.

The potatoes should be arriving this week. Hooray!

Heritage seed library

This year is the first time we have ordered some seeds from the heritage seed library (HSL). But like the potatoes they also have not been seen, even though they were ordered on January 3rd.

The problem seems to lie with a broken PO Box number, so all those requests are apparently sitting somewhere in Belfast possibly never to be seen again. I called them up, and a quick email to the HSL with a copy of the order, and they should be with us next week sometime.

We hope to get six of the following, plus a lucky dip!

1. Beetroot (Bulls blood)
2. Beetroot (Ukrainian)
3. Carrot (Egmont Gold)
4. Chard (Samara)
5. Climbing French Bean (Bonne Bouche)
6. Kale (Asparagus)
7. Leek (Colossal)
8. Pepper (Nardello)
9. Squash (Bubble and Squeak)
10. Climbing French Bean (Romanian)
11. Dwarf French Bean (Emperor of Russia)
12. Broad Bean (Martock)

Where are my potatoes?

Well its been several weeks since the potato order went in, but no sign of them. So today I called the suppliers, and they should be delivered next week. I am a real potato fan. I am looking forward to chitting them, and then sowing them in late March.

Some say I look like a potato...

Aubergines and Brussels Sprouts

According to my spreadsheet I can sow some aubergines (Black Beauty) and brussels sprouts (Groninger) in February, so thats what I've done. They will stay inside on the window sill. The aubergines are going to live here at home. I tried growing them on the allotment, but they didn't do too well, so they will stay indoors and in a grow bag on the balcony to see what happens.

The tomatoes sown on January 28th are just beginning to germinate, which has taken longer than I thought, but the window sill may not have been warm enough. I've kept looking at them every half an hour or so this morning, and they are definitely moving.

Most of the sweet peas out on the balcony now have four leaves, so their tops have been pinched out to make them more bushy. They look so fragile blowing around in the wind, but seem to be managing OK. I don't think are as worried as I am.